The Serotinal Incidents
by Xai16
Summary: Strange "happenings" have occurred in Hydaelyn since the final fight with Gaius. Years have passed since the great battle and peace has been restored but so much so that crucial anomalies have gone unnoticed. Strange weather patterns and the loss of Echo all point to a coming storm. Once person knows what's coming and is off to face it. But who and how?


_**The Serotinal Incidents**_

**__****_Disclaimer_**_: ____Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. ____THIS STORY IS JUST FOR FUN. No copyright infringement intended and it's non-profit. All rights to Final Fantasy belong to their respective owners such as Square Enix._

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**Chapter 1 – Arid Showers in Thanalan**

"At last! It's been particularly raining lately, you'd think the Mothercrystal didn't like us. Hell, if you'd never been to Thanalan, you'd never guess it was arid."

"Don' get too comf'table, it'll likely rain again t'night."

"Don't jinx it. There's not a cloud for miles."

"You'll only set y'self up for dis'ppointment. It may be dry here, but my guess is the rains 'ave only just started. And I don' know what you're so 'appy about. You'll be n'side the whole time. An' Cade'll be back soon. If 'he catches you slackin' 'gain, 'e'll feed y' to a behemoth."

"Leave Cade to me. He don't scare me as much as his wife does."

"Yehehe! 'E's got more reason t' be scared than you. 'Ey!" the man was knocked to the ground. "Ferin! You ok?"

"Watch it! Oh." He found a hooded character on top of him as his friend approached, "Is he dead."

"Uh, 'old on…" he lifted the hood enough to see, "It's a maid. Y' okay there?"

The girl struggled to lift herself off the man, "A-apologies. I'm just a little…" one of her arms gave out but Ferin caught her, "Woah! You should get out of this 'eat."

"Can you stand, miss?" asked the other man helping her to her feet. She faltered but the man gripping her arm caught her, "Let's get 'er inside, Rem."

They each took an arm and elbow to aid her in her steps inside until they found a chair she could rest in. Rem handed her a mug of water and they watched as she guzzled it down in a rush. "I'm sorry to be so uncivilized. I've not had food or water in days."

Ferin reached for a loaf of bread out of a lunch case and handed to her. It was devoured in little time at all. "What happened to you? Are you hurt anywhere?" asked Rem.

She shook her head, "My caravan was raided by a band of brigands. They stole everything and took me and my comrades captive. I broke from my bonds but could not save the others before they were onto me."

"You're safe now." said Rem. Ferin nodded but then turned towards the multiple footsteps accumulating just outside. A loud bang came at the door, "Get out here, cat! We know you're in there!"

"No! I was so sure I'd lost them!" Rem stood in front of her and the door, "Don't worry, they won't get you. We'll make sure of it."

"Rem, take 'er to th' back room. I'll see if I can send'ese guys away without any probl'ms." As Ferin went to the door, Rem helped the girl to the back room, "You'll be safe in here. This is the most secure room in the shop. I'll lock the door. If they do get in, use this secret tunnel."

Rem led her behind a desk in the room and lifted some of the floor boards to show a small tunnel, "It won't get you out of the city but it'll take you down five streets."

"Thank you, you've been so kind to me. I don't even know your name."

"It's Remiold. Friends call me Rem."

"Thank you, Remiold. I'll never forget this." Rem scratched the side of his neck, "Don't mention it. Now stay here. I've got to go help Ferin." He got up and ran to the door, lockin her in behind him before joining his friend. "Rem stays back! They gotta Coeu-"

Just as Rem made it into the room, the door and Ferin were busted in. Rem pulled Ferin to his feet as men surrounded them and a Coeurl backed up to block their exit, "So you guys are her accomplices. You three have no idea what you've gotten yourselves into. Do you even know who we are?"

"An' we don' care. You're not gettin' 'er." Rem and Ferin got in their best defensive stances despite how miserably out classed they were. They weren't like the wanderers who could fare well against a beast like the Coeurl; just extra help for a packaging company. "We don't care about her! We want back the package you all took!"

"What are you talking about? You and your band of crooks took her and her caravan hostage!" the man face palmed himself, "So that's how- do you believe every story you hear from total strangers or did you even consider a pretty face could lie?" Rem and Ferin looked at each other then back at him confused. The man continued, "She's a wanted criminal! Don't you get it?! You've helped her escape!"

"She 'asn't gone nowhere. She's locked up 'n th' back room!" As Ferin said that, Rem slowly brought his head down and his hand over his eyes, "No she's not. I showed her the emergency exit."

Rem just stared at him then they all made their way to the back room. Rem quickly unlocked the door and opened it wide. Sure enough, she was gone and the safe was left wide open. The leader of the group looked at the open safe then back at them, "You put her in the same room as the safe?"

"'Ow were we supposed t'know she was'a thief?"

"Yeah, she told us you lot were after her so we hauled her up in the only room with a lock and an escape route. She even said she hadn't eaten or drank anything in days."

"You imbeciles! How does someone thirst for days when it's been raining for the past week and a half?" Now they really felt stupid. Ferin was the first to realize the full situation, "You're tellin' Cade. Not me."

The girl in the cloak ran down a few extra streets laughing the whole way. As she came to an open glen when sun was beginning its decent, she saw a man standing under a tree. Hardly hesitating, she ran up to meet him with a warm hug, her hood falling off and exposing her furry ears, "My love!"

"Krysandr!" He took her in full embrace, lifting her off the ground. She giggled into his neck, "Even a night away from your hand is too much. Are we prepared?"

The young man nodded and pointed to the forest a few kilometers off on the other side of a few buildings, "I've stolen my father's Chocobo. It's tied up in the trees. And here." he pulled out a satchel that was hanging off his shoulder, "I've gotten the dowry he would've denied us. Nothing will keep us apart again."

The girl lifted a sack she had with her, "And I've found the inheritance that my mother hid from me when my father died. I hate that it's much less but it'll be enough to get us north. OH NO!" the man took her arms into his grip, "What is it?"

"I've left the necklace I got from my father at the bakery. I must go back for it!" The lad took her hand in his to prevent her from leaving, "No! Take my satchel, head to the forest and wait for me. The chocobo will be hidden behind a large stone by a small spring. I'll go back for your necklace."

"You're too good for me." she kissed him short but sweetly, "I'll be waiting for you."

Thusly, they ran off in separate directions. Once the young man was out of sight, the girl ran off in the direction he point the chocobo in, laughing. "Hahahahahehehehahaha! Hydaelyn men'are gullible! Poor Raysh!"

"Poor Raysh, indeed!" the girl halted in her tracks as she saw a male Lalafell in her path, "Kaellan, the Calico. How many times are you going to lead guys on like that?"

"Likely as many times'as you're gonna give me an'introduction before you try to catch meh. We've been playin' this game of cat an' mouse for how long an' you still talk to meh like Ah'm your nemesis. Hehe, get it?" The Lalafell snorted and smirked, "Don't flatter yourself. You're not even in a league to be considered a nemesis."

"An' yet the cat still hasn't caught the mouse. So Ah guess Ah still retain my feline status, making you the rodent, pipsqueak." She pulled out a dagger and began circling around with him, "Come now, Kaellan. My father's short. My ex is short. My whole race is short. You think I haven't heard all the smart remarks? You know the size cracks don't work on me."

"Sure they do, Ellian. They get you monologuing." Ellian hadn't noticed that he was standing on the cloak Kaellan took off when she realized it was him in her way. With one swift move, she pulled the cloak out from under him, bringing him up in the air and back down hard on his bum before running on all fours to get away much faster than his small legs could carry him. It mattered not because she soon found herself in a net hovering well above the ground, "We've been through this a hundred times, Kaellan!" shouted Ellian as he ran to catch up. "I know all your tricks and I'm prepared!"

"You're right! We have been through this hundreds of times. Long 'nough for meh to know all the weak spots'in your knot-work." She drove her dagger into two of the knots in the net and was out of it in no time. "Next time, buy'a net with different knots!"

She ran on two feet to be more wary of traps laid out for her, Ellian sharp on her tracks, "Those knots won't hold you, so I have to custom make them myself!" Ellian whistled out and a chocobo found him shortly after, his way of slightly outmatching her speed, "You did'all that for meh? That's so sweet'of you. Y'know what? Ah know why you're upset. You're jealous all those other guys get my attention. You just can't seem to keep your hands'off me."

The people that saw her coming moved out the way and made enough noise with the chocobo's feet to alert others to shift out of the way, "And you can't seem to keep _your_ hands of other peoples' purses."

"A girl's gotta make'a livin'. You un'erstand right?" She darted over a cart being pushed down the street that couldn't be moved in time. The chocobo just barely leapt over it too, "I understand there's a cell in Ul'dah with your name on it."

"Aw, but meh an' my lover were headed north. That's totally out of the way an' we haven't even scheduled pit stops." He threw a bola but she saw it coming and leapt onto an awning and off when there was none left, that and it was difficult to maintain her footing on it. She caught a light post as she jumped off and used the momentum to round the corner. "Don't worry. It'll only take the rest of your life then you can be on your way. Now stand still!" He fired a net this time.

"Not today, bounty hunter." Kaellan dashed down a skinny alleyway where Ellian had to go around. He made it to the other side sooner than she could make it out given the buildup of junk in there but she was gone. "Took the roof tops, huh? Fine! I'll let you think yourself smart for now."

Kaellan hopped from one roof to the next and reached until she was a sound distance away. From there, she kept a low profile walking the streets until she reached the trees at dusk. Hearing the trickling water and seeing a large dark thing, she tiptoed around it to find a light colored animal resting in the grass. "Right where'he left you. Good thing Ah paid that baker. Poor Raysh will be on a wild hunt for hours lookin' for the 'next guy in'a hat that came in'. Alright lil' buddy. Naptime's over."

The chocobo sat up calmly at first but then it's attention was at full alert. It stood and chirped at a specific direction before taking off in that direction, "HEY! Where're you goin'? Get back here, you 6-piece dinner!"

It didn't run but it was at a pace that Kaellan could only barely keep up. Suddenly the chocobo jumped up into the air towards a tree. As she approached the tree, the ground caved in under her, "AAIII!"

Regaining her bearings when the dirt cloud started clearing, she found herself in a hole well deep enough that climbing out without a rope was near unmanageable. A voice snatched her further out of the lull she was knocked into, "I'd worry about you finding a way out…"

She looked up and saw Ellian sitting in the tree the chocobo was still leaping towards, observing her from his perch with the last lights of day, "…but you won't be conscious for this next part."

He pulled out a sack that looked like it contained a sand-like substance. Another second, he had hurled it into the pit making the stuff burst all around her in a puff of smoke. She coughed to get it out of her throat but in a few moments, it mattered not. Her equilibrium was thrown off and she fell to her knees ever coughing. Once her balance threw her to the ground altogether, it only took a few seconds before her vision went totally dark.

Slits of light as she cracked her eyes, though dim as it, and rustling sounds wasn't enough to win her aware so in the lull, she drifted off again. Opening her eyes once more, there was more light, more xanthic shades of it, and a delicate clang of metal. However, it was the trace of Bluefrog berries that rose her from the daze. "Mmmm, what's for breakfast?" she said as she pushed her arms out in front of her to stetch.

"For you. Nothing. We'll be in Ul'dah soon enough." Kaellan shot up with eyes wide open hearing _that_ voice. Tight-fit diagonal bars rested to the front and back of her. She was in a prison buggy. Sprouting to her feet, she hit her head on the ceiling of the coach then crouched back down. Looking at her wrists, they were shackled and so were her ankles. "Well, we're closer to Central so I'll collect your bounty in Black Brush."

It was dawn and if not for the altitude, the sun would still be below the horizon. Still, from their position, it may as well have been as it was behind a mountain. She remembered back when it was a touch darker before she fell asleep. Piecing it all, she could figure how this went down, "Birds are stupid."

Ellian was putting away a stewpot and a bowl in a compartment to the back of the wagon. When he came back around and in passing, he was holding up something made out of wood and shaped similar to a chocobo. Give it half a second, and she realized all that chirping and running was it responding to a whistle. Ellian not pausing a step, climbed onto the front and tugged the reins to make his chocobo move. Just before the buggy started moving, Ellian agreed, "Yup. Birds are stupid."

Kaellan was stretched out in her cage, ankles crossed. She found that while the ceiling doesn't reach her full height, she only had about an inch and a half advantage horizontally and at least a foot vertically, "Small cage."

The bounty hunter just kept driving quietly. It's been that way for hours, and the sun had yet to reach midday. The air smelled very wet. A strange concept in Thanalan. Looking out, some clouds, likely from last night, were moving away but more clouds were coming in from the west. In the meantime to keep out of the sun to minimize heat exposure, she had tried out numerous positions. The weather was making her joints ache and she was getting bored, "Small driver, all considering."

She knew he was ignoring her but the idea of finding a way to get him to respond seemed like a challenge worthy for passing the time, "Getting, kinda hungry. Ah can'un'erstand the jug of water, an' you at least had the good humor t' throw in'a saucer but…"

Nothing still, "At least you're not dumb like most people. They'all seem t' think animals – especially cats – aren't allergic t' milk…nothing? No conversing with th' paycheck?"

She waited a while then started up one more time, "So what's'in the drawer on the side? Ah tried pickin'it but you came back from your last bathroom break sooner than Ah expected."

Ellian jerked the reins back to bring the wagon ride to an instant end and leapt to the side of the wagon with his pistol fixed on her, all in one swift movement. He eyed her looking at him upside down with her hands stretched out to either side of her, "How did you get your shackles off?!" he demanded while eying the compartment just beneath the flooring of her cage.

"Com'on, you wound meh. Ah picked those'hours ago." He kept his pistol fixed on her as he examined the drawer closely. There was no getting in there no matter what anyone did. That's why he had no problem with leaving all his valuables within reach of the bars. But that didn't mean anyone should be able to reach through the bars as all sizes of his special made restraints were wider than the space between the bars. Hearing that _THE _Calico herself was able to even reach the compartment with all his tools and valuables was just cause to be on alert. "So Ah get th'fellin' you don' want meh in your drawer."

Ellian realized that even the sneaky Kaellan wouldn't be able to open it and lowered his weapon. Kaellan took this chance since now she had his attention, "So why aren't you taking meh to Ul'dah?"

Somehow, her being calm as she was on her way to what would ultimately end in execution didn't unnerve him. If anything, it reminded him to keep on guard for any outside sources that might free her as the keys were in the compartment. He couldn't trust them on his person with her around. "I'm not liked in Ul'dah. Black Brush is closer. They'll have your bounty."

"Well when do we get there? You're borin' meh to death." Ellian went back to the front and hopped up to the reins, "Just over the next hill. Then you can have all the fun you want driving the guards crazy from your cell."

"So Ah am getting' to you?" this thought piqued her enough to sit up on her elbows. Ellian snickered a little, "Cute but don't flatter yourself."

"You an' Ah know this won't work. No via point can hold meh an' Black Brush is hardly'a campin' post. Ah'll be out as soon'as you're gone."

"As long as I get my bounty, I don't care if I have to chase you down again."

"So this's livin' for you? Ah'm just your personal en'ertainment? An' Ah figured you for one'ov them noble types who preaches about justice."

"Once upon a time, maybe. Welcome to the disillusionment of adulthood." The wagon came to a stop and hushed voices could be heard from the guard post a few feet away. Once the two men in Brass Blade uniform realized this situation was clearly their jurisdiction, they rushed over. Kaellan smirked at the idea of guards this green, "Amateurs."

They first looked in and stared at _The Calico_ laid back in her cage with her hands under her head, then one, while maintaining eye contact with her, turned his head to the driver, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the Calico right?"

"Yup" said Ellian as he rested his elbow on the leg he just pulled up on the bench. The other one spoke, "Where are her restraints?"

"Broke out of them." Ellian stated matter-of-factly as he pulled an elongated pipe out from under the bin under the bench and set it up for lighting. When he finally got to smoking it, the guards finally found some confidence, "Right. We'll take it from here."

"Hold on! I'll need my bounty first." The men looked him up and down then back up again, noting that they didn't even have to move their necks to do so, "What bounty?"

Ellian figured their meaning but gave them the benefit of the doubt and instead took the pipe out his mouth and whipped out the wanted poster. They looked at it then looked at him. Kaellan had seen this played out before and laughed inside simply about the fact that they had to look up at him given how high off the ground he was. She giggled more at how they had NO idea the kind of fight they were getting into.

"Well the bounty would go to whoever caught her." In a contemporary comedy movie, right about now, the audience would hear a short record scratch. Ellian rolled up the paper. "The bounty will go to whoever brought her in. Now whether you believe that was me or not is none of my concern."

"Well you can have a portion of it, say a third since there's no way a Lalafell caught _THE_ Calico." The other guy grinned at that remark, backing his partner. Ellian just shifted his gaze from one to the other once then sat back in his wagon and took the reins in his grip. The chocobo started to move when one of them ran in front to block his path. "Woah woah woah woah! Where do you think you're going?"

"The Silver Bazaar. A slaver can fetch a better price than the likes of you imbeciles." The other put his hand on the side of the bench. "That would be obstruction of justice. The prisoner's no longer in your jurisdiction."

The next sound they heard was the arm cannon nearly the size of the bounty hunter charging up, "Way I see it, she was never in yours. So are you going to back off or should I add 'disturbing the peace' to your field report?"

The younger one in front of him slowly reached for his whistle. Ellian kept his aim on the one to his side, "You sure? It's a pretty big cannon. I promise you won't like the experience."

The older, and smarter one clearly, signaled for his companion to back down. They moved away reluctantly and Ellian sat back down to shove off shaking his head. "If Papalymo were here…nope, he'd get laughed at too."

"So…the Silver Bazaar?" Kaellan quizzed. Ellian nodded short and to the point, "Yup."

"An' their bonds'll hold meh any better?"

"As I said before, not the point."

The weather blew in all nasty like in another hour: leaves blowing and smacking them in the face, rain pouring down in a manner that hit the skin harder, clouds dark thick enough to hide all traces of daylight. All the while, Kaellan slept through it. Ellian knew it was her way of getting over it but he hated that she could snooze throughout. The rain had made the ground so soft and sloshy that he often questioned if he should risk Kaellan escaping if they stopped. He got an answer scarcely a minute later as one of the front wheels sank into a mud puddle. "Aw Amalj'aa."

Kaellan awoke from the sudden tip in the vehicle and nosed about the reason, "So th'great bounty hunter'is finally defeated, huh?" Ellian was looking down at it knowing the diagonally opposite wheel was in the air but kept eyeing the chocobo, considering if it was even smart to try. In the end, he rapped the bridles and the large bird pulled but was instead pulled down onto its side as the buggy did so first onto its left side. Kaellan made a short shriek as she was tossed into the air for a second before colliding with the bars into the mud. Ellian picked himself up from the mud and wiped it away from his nasal passage. Kaellan rubbed her shoulder as it broker her fall, "Peculiar weather we're havin' these past months? You think somethin's up?"

"Leave that to the Scions, I say." Ellian was trying to figure out how he was going to get the wagon right up again. There was a tree conveniently nearby but any tools or equipment he had was in that drawer that was now buried in the mud that all he had was the rope under the seat. The width was much taller than he was so scaling to the top was an incredible concept in itself but he tried it anyway. The mud reached up to his knees so it was hard enough just getting to the thing but it made for a slippery climb. "Well I'm having a great day."

"Y'know," she pestered trying to poke her head out from the bars on the right to see, "Ah could help if you let me out." Ellian kept trying to climb at least up to the seat compartment to get the rope, "That's a pathetic attempt even for you. Besides, the door is under your feet. I couldn't let you out even if I was possessed."

Just then, Ellian heard the chocobo chirping relentlessly. He felt pretty dense to not consider first to free the poor thing as it was stuck on its side then second, use it to reach the top. As he pulled struggled to lift it to reach the buckle – cursing that everything he needed to get to just happened to be on the inaccessible side – he heard a terrifying sound; giving cause to the panicked cries of his otherwise calm mount. Looking beyond the buggy, he saw a low rush of water for such an arid area and realized the topography of his current position was a bowl-like depression. He pulled struggled for the bridle buckle as the water began to wash over his legs. The bird chirped with anxiety as Ellian took out his pistol and shot a hole through the leather, enough to just muscle the thing to snap. The chocobo was free but Kaellan was in full tilt alarm mode. He had the bird drop him off on the new top of the wagon and found Kaellan in a state he'd never imagine, "What's goin'on?! Why is'there water?! HOW IS IT FLOODING?! I DON' WANNA DIE! LE'MEH OUT! PLEASE! LE'MEH OUT! I DON' WANNA DIE!"

"Calm down!" It was out of character for him but so was Kaellan at the moment, "WHAT'S HAPPENIN'?! WHAT'S GOIN'ON?!"

"Calm down, now!"

"Just le'meh out, please! I promise I won't run! Just ple-he-hease!" Ellian saw her face ball up as tears quite distinctively in this rain streamed down from her eyes. He'd never seen her like this and almost felt sorry for her. "Don't worry. There's not enough water for it to flood much. You won't drown." a lie he knew, but she couldn't see that, "I'm going to get the wagon right-side-up and we'll be back underway."

He tied rope to the bars as best he was abale and was about to go climb the tree use it as leverage for pulling when she grabbed his wrist, "Please don' go! Don' leav'meh here!"

"I'm not! I'll be right over here." She scrambled to regain his wrist or his leg or something as he broke contact with her and leapt into the water. It was almost up to his hips but he knew it wouldn't take long for it to rise. Climbing the tree was no problem for him and the chocobo was cooperative when he called it over to tie on the ropes. Both he and the Lalafell tugged with everything they had but the wagon didn't budge. During a quick breather, Ellian saw something that really made him sympathetic. He stood almost level with where the water would overflow from this pocket and down the mountain; the wagon wouldn't reach that tall and the water showed no signs of slowing. She would drown before he could resurrect the carriage.

The only saving thought, he saw a smoke stack as if from a chimney a few kilometers back but the thought of leaving Kaellan alone like this, to his astonishment, was an unbearable thought. Not because she could escape in his absense; he was sure if she could get out of that right now, she wouldn't hesitate. It was so strange to him to be sympathetic of anything but never before had he seen a person so intensely terrified. The fear in her face, in _THAT_ prideful creature, sent his stomach in ferocious knots. He nonetheless had to. Thunder cracked as he rode the bird in a back track as fast as he could. There was the hollow log resting on the boulder and in the northwest, though he couldn't see the smoke in this darkness, he was certain he saw it in that direction. There was a small crag blocking his path so it took him a few minutes to hastily find a way around it. Soon, he came to a cottage with light emitting from the windows. He knew it had been nearly fifteen minutes since he left the wagon so he wasted no time in banging at the door. There was no answer for a long while but he persisted on until a mid-aged Midlander swung the door open, strange for such parts. It was clear he didn't want to be disturbed by the ax in his right hand. At first he didn't see Ellian only the chocobo sitting a few feet off then looked down to see what was moving in the lower corner of his eye. "What do you want?!"

"Please. My wagon fell and it's flooding…"

"I don't give a good goddamn! This is a secluded house in the mountains! Take A Hint! I don't want Visitors!" The door slammed promptly after but Ellian still banged on it and call out to him, "There's a person trapped in the wagon! Water is filling the area! She'll drown! If you could just spare som-…"

The door swung back open for the man to swing his ax in a backhanded way. He jumped back but was too close to the door and it struck his chest slashing up to his collar bone then his cheek. It wasn't deep but it the man made his point, "I've got enough problems without some stranger coming to me with a crazed story about a flood! We're in the mountains! I'm not dumb enough to leave for that to find myself victim to whatever band of cutthroats and thieves you hail from! You so much as TAP my door again, and I'll run you through!"

Another slam to the face and Ellian found his footing again. Just as he was pulling himself onto his chocobo, he heard another chirping sound coming from what appeared to be a stable. Peeking in the window, he saw another chocobo chirping to the thunder of the storm. The door was latched tight as he quickly found when he shook it wildly. Looking back at the cottage since he knew he was making a considerable amount of noise, the man didn't seem to hear him in this weather. This _thing_ was not budging and he had no time to test the combination keeping the latch. He used the rope he had with him and tied a quick loop then set it on his shoulder for ease of access. Placing the muzzle of his barrel into the curve of the lock, he pulled the trigger, ripped off the latch, ran in and roped the chocobo in the loop he just made, and pulled it hurriedly back to his own. The man without a shred of doubt heard the gunfire and was just as surely coming out of his home in time to see his chocobo being stolen. Ellian leapt onto his own bird and pulled the end of the rope through a ring in his saddle to minimize losing hold of it. The man ran out to them but only barely reached them before Ellian took off.

Racing back down the mountain path he took, he could hear Kaellan's shrieks for help. The sound made his blood curdle. Upon reaching the wagon, he found the water level gained at least three more feet. Kaellan was pushing vainly at the bars to move them and stretching out of them as if trying to squeeze through. He could imagine her alarm when she realized no one was there pulling on the ropes tied to her bars. Not wasting any time, he tied down the man's chocobo to the ropes dangling from the tree then his own in front of it to prevent the thing from getting away. When the birds were set up and pulling, Ellian swam over to the wagon to check on Kaellan, "I'm here! Calm down! I didn't abandon you!"

The Miqo'te was blubbering and couldn't manage words. The water was up to her chest and her hands were bloodied, likely from rapping against the bars. As he swam back to guide the chocobo, he barely dodged an ax to his face. The man had followed him, no doubt his chocobo was one of the more valuable things he owned. Ellian only had his Kodachi for his lost shot was used for the man's lock. Strength was no contest for Ellian but the man had a positional advantage as Ellian couldn't secure his footing. He pulled out his pistol to help his kodachi in restraining the man's ax from driving a fissure into his cranium. Once he found his footing in that hold, he knock the man back and kept going until her fell backwards. Ellian mounted the man and held the kodachi to his neck, "LISTEN FOR A SECOND! You can have your chocobo! I'll even pay you for its use! But I need it to get her out! So either help me or I can kill you right now!"

The Hyur looked towards the wagon to see arms struggling. He could finally hear her frustrated grunts to break free. Looking back at Ellian with a calmer expression, "I want half the Gil you got!"

"And you were calling _me_ a thief! Done!" They shot up and got to work. The man trudged through the water while Ellian climbed the tree to check on the ropes. "How in blue blazes is there even a flood all the way up here?!"

"It's likely the rain built up over time in a depression pocket down that way and it's begun to overflow! It'll overflow into this pocket too but not before completely submerging the buggy!" Ellian noted that the ropes were a smidge thinner from the pulling but they wouldn't snap for a while. The man was just reaching the bottom side of the toppled vehicle, "How'd she get in-…" he noticed the bars and the terrified Miqo'te inside. Ellian called back his answer, "She's a wanted criminal! I'm turning her in for a bounty!"

Upon hearing that information, he tried to belay any thoughts of the Dunesfolkian being a slaver but the girl looked so pitiful, such thoughts were hard to resist. She gripped at his hand numerous times as if begging him to help her. He saw the water was creeping up to her chin and took her hands in both of his, "Stop your fussin'." he said affectionately, "My name's Rothaid. We're gonna get you out of here."

She whimpered to his words. He left her hands down gently and took hold of his ax. Bringing it back behind his head, he took a full swing at the bars, "Why are you trying to pull it right-side-up?! It will completely submerge her!"

"No it won't!" called Ellian from the tree, "Besides, the door is on the other side. It'll be easier to get her out." Ellian suddenly felt a tremor in the tree. Rothaid answered back, "You won't have that kind of time! Her face is almost against the bars right now! I'm cutting a-"

"LOOKOUT!" Kaellan pointed to the tree falling down behind him as Ellian hurled himself from it into the water. Rothaid flung himself into the water to get out of the way. When they resurfaced, they found that the tree limbs landed on the wagon making a hole in the welding, but not one Kaellan could pull herself through. "Thanks for the warning!"

"Get mad at the roots for being too weak!" They swam back to the wagon to climb back on top. Rothaid looked at his ax as he was pulling himself up, "Any chance of getting a portion of that bounty?! I'll need a new ax after this and I don't know how much you got in your purse!"

"I'm not coming back this way so take what you can get! It'll be enough!" Ellian stated as he pulled himself up. Getting to Kaellan, she was pressing her face against the bars. Ellian took hold of her head to help her stay out of the water, "Do you trust me?"

Hearing that visibly scared her. She shook her head as contained as she could so as not submerge her face. Ellian tried to get her attention, "Hey! Hey! You're not gonna die! I promise! Now do you trust me?!"

She took a second but verbalized the answer this time, "No!"

"Well you're out of options here! Cut through the tree! Not the bars!"

"I AM! A little hard when your ax has been recently dulled!" Rothaid was hacking into the tree limb to detach it and unplug the hole. When he thought there was enough room, he reached in to take her arm and pull her out. She took a deep breath and tried to break out. The hole was only big enough for one arm. They pulled at her and pushed the tree but she wasn't getting through. Ellian reached in and pulled her back to the bars so Rothaid could hack away some more. Only her nose and mouth with some effort could breach the bars for air. She took one last breath before losing access to air altogether. Ellian held tightly to her hand and she did too, afraid to let go. Rothaid took a pause in chopping to frantically pull her through. Only her arm and head made it past but she was still submerged. She quickly moved so he could keep going and returned to holding Ellian's hand, gripping as tightly as she could. Rothaid hacked hard and fast but after several swings, Ellian noticed Kaellan's grip began fading, "She's going limp! Cut faster!"

"It don't get faster than this! I already got blisters!" He wasn't even sure if he was hitting with precision as he was sacrificing it for speed and power. Two more hits and he practically threw the ax down to reach in her, his head submerging to do so. There still wasn't enough room so he kicked in the limb and tried again. Her arm and head poked through but she still wasn't coming out. Rothaid shoved her arm to Ellian and braced his back against the trunk, pushing his feet against the bent bars while Ellian pulled. The tip of her ear poked out of the water then her right shoulder finally squeezed out in one swift tug. Rothaid took her waist as Ellian fought to free her hips, a small task considering the difficulty of her shoulders. Once she was free, Rothaid picked her up and carried her along the tree trunk to the higher ground with Ellian behind him.

Laying her on the ground, Ellian began slapping her to wake, while Rothaid went to cut the chocobo free before they had to worry about them drowning too as the rope was still hooked under the tree.

"She's not breathing!" Ellian realized his smacking her was accomplishing nothing when Rothaid pushed him aside, "MOVE!"

He pinched off her nose, took a deep breath, and blew as hard and as long as he could. He did it once more and Kaellan was on her side coughing and vomiting water. Ellian praised him, "You know the Resuscitation Technique?"

"Nope. But I know if you blow enough air in there, you throw up!" Ellian knew the stomach had nothing to do with the lungs but either way, it worked and Kaellan was breathing. Rothaid was about to pick her up and carry her away when Ellian stopped him, "Hold on!"

He came back over the tree with some irons and cuffed her wrists and ankles. Rothaid gave him a look and he returned it, "You'll thank me when she regains conscience."

Rothaid, feeling bad for her, decided to let them stay at his house for the time being. He still wasn't sure if Ellian was a bounty hunter or slaver but he didn't seem like a slaver the way he was calming Kaellan down in the buggy. Eliian removed the chains only long enough to treat her hands and arms from the ramming she was doing while he went for help. Once he put them back on, Rothaid picked her up off the couch and carried her to his bed. "We'll take the living room."

"She's a felon. Not a lost princess. You can take the couch. She's not leaving my sight." He ignored the short one and closed the door. "You can watch her comatose later. The door's locked and there's no windows in there. It'll be nightfall in a few hours. The storm's died a little and we need to dig out a channel for that water so I can get you two out of my hair as soon as I can. Here."

The Midlander tossed him a shovel from his closet and took one out himself, "Besides, I'm sure my share of Gil is in that tin can of yours."

Ellian looked at the door when Rothaid was rushing him to keep up. He followed hesitantly. They marched back down the path with a lighter rain falling on their heads. Ellian kept looking back, "Don't be fooled by the pretty face."

"You worry 'bout yourself. Alright?" there was a long pause before he continued, "She's about the age my daughter would have been."

Ellian raised an eyebrow then the man continued, "I don't know what kind of trouble she's gotten into but I can't shake this feeling of guilt. I feel responsible."

"Good. You keep that in mind when we come back and she's gone. I won't pay you if she escapes." The man brought the blade of his shovel down sharp into the soil inches away from his step, "That's neither here nor there. You'll pay me for stealing my chocobo."

Ellian had to admit the guy had a point but he kept looking back. They spent the rest of that day shoveling dirt out so it could pour down the hillside. When the water's receded enough, they worked until it was too dark getting the wagon upright. Ellian felt spending the night and repairing any damages tomorrow before getting underway couldn't hurt. However upon returning, just as Ellian predicted, the door to the man's room was wide open, the irons were on the bed, his purse and some of his food was gone, and so was BOTH of the chocobos. Ellian pinched the crook of his nose, "Still think she's like your daughter?"

"Yup. Just like Velony. Down to the last Gil."

* * *

[**A/N**] I finally got around to starting this one. So when Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn came out and I heard we could make our own character, I was SO psyched but I didn't have the combination of money or time to enjoy it. When I found out you could still create your own characters on the Official Banchmark for FREE though, I couldn't stop myself from making one after another. Kaellan (Kael) was my first one and I fell in love with her. Then it was Vivyerra, then Ellian, Dalrus, etc. You'll meet the other two soon enough, the Roegadyn being sooner though. I started giving then backstories, then weapons, then a story together, the ideas just kept piling up. I thought that since I hadn't played the game, I could write this without prior knowledge but then I asked questions like "how many suns does this place have" and "what sites on available maps can I utilize" and what are these area called and what are they like" and "who was the original bad guy for this game and do I want to include him" and from there, I realized there's no way I could get by without some research. Of course, when I got all that down, more ideas came to mind. I started asking questions like "if a character was to say something like 'oh my god', what god would they swear by" and by then I'd realized that my roommate had played the game and paid attention to most of these details. He's been a HUGE help.

SO more coming soon. I'm on a roll. I generally kept the visual descriptions of characters to a minimum so my readers could picture their own characters if they got them. For many, I understand 'serotinal' is not a word in their vocabulary or their dictionary. It means 'late summer'. My roommate said that if I do this well enough, I could submit it to Square Enix to make it at least partially cannon so people could play this story out. I figured that since "Red vs. Blue" did it and it worked, I could too. I'm putting my all into this so let me know if anything doesn't sound accurate. Wish me luck and look forward to more "Serotinal Incidents".

Go to my deviantArt page to see the characters I've come up with. Some I've actually drawn out with their weapons. As for other artwork, I've never taken an art class to learn how to do this stuff so I'll ask for help from my sister time to time but the more recent ones and some of the old ones are purely my work...A~nd then there's that one I just cheated on all together. But the link is below, copy and paste, delete the space, and don't forget the dot-com. And enjoy.

xai16. Deviantart

gallery/45658436/Final-Fantasy-XIV-The-Serotinal-Incidents


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